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Coming Out Through Reading
I came out to myself the summer in between my freshman and sophomore years of high school and began coming out to my friends and family the following fall. Before that, however, I felt lost and confused. I did not really find myself attracted to anybody of any sex, but I knew that I was not like the other guys I was encountering in my classes and in the halls. During my freshman year, I remember reading The Epic of Gilgamesh and Siddhartha — both books that are largely centered on male friendships. These relationships fascinated me, and I could not help but to see them as queer — even before I…
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Does It Get Better in Small Schools?
My high school was a small oasis in a largely Republican borough in a largely Democrat city in a mixed state that typically comes up blue. When I say small, I mean that my graduating class consisted of 117 students (after 3 girls became pregnant and either transferred or dropped out). In total, the school consisted of around 500 students. We did not even have our own building, and instead shared it with three other schools, each relegated to their own wing and sharing areas such as the gym, auditorium, and lunch room. Because of this, getting high involvement rates for any after school event was always difficult. During my…
